There are voracious readers, and then there's Cara Nicoletti. By trade, Nicoletti is a butcher at The Meat Hook in Brooklyn and also a talented writer, siphoning her "literary food blog," Yummy Books, into her first book Voracious, out via Little Brown next year. So we thought, who better to school us on the pairing of good book with good food? Here, Nicoletti breaks down her Williamsburg neighborhood for Opening Ceremony, in eight toothsome mise-en-scènes.
1. Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, with a side of Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
After reading the story “The Donuts” in Robert McCloskey’s Homer Price as a kid, it has always been a secret dream of mine to own a donut shop. Peter Pan Donuts looks like it was plucked right from one of McCloskey’s pencil-sketch drawings, down to the stools at the counter. Donuts have definitely been having a moment the past few years, but in my opinion, nobody can touch Peter Pan—I live and die by its sour-cream old fashioned.
727 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222
MAP
2. Okonomi, with a side of Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami writes about food a lot in his novels and short stories, but the food scenes in Norwegian Wood are my favorite because of their clean simplicity. At one point the narrator eats a breakfast of “rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and fried eggs,” and at another point “eggs, mackerel, fresh greens, eggplant, mushrooms, radishes, and sesame seeds, all done in the delicate Kyoto style.” I had never had a traditional Japanese breakfast until Okonomi opened up down the street a few months ago. Every morning there is a prefix menu, the only choice you get is what fish you want, and all the fish comes in fresh every morning. Along with the fish, there are steamed greens with sesame seeds and tofu, pickled vegetables, a small square of egg custard, rice with bonito flakes, and a poached egg, barley tea, and the best miso soup I’ve ever had. I always leave Okonomi feeling somehow cleansed—not my usual feeling after going out to breakfast.
150 Ainslie Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
MAP
3. The Second Chance Saloon, with a side of $$$$$$ by Bukowski
I hate Bukowski, but the love that I have for The Second Chance Saloon is real, and somehow the two just work together. There is plenty of beer drinking at dark bars in his collection of poems, “Love is a Dog from Hell,” but one poem in particular, called “$$$$$$” makes me think about The Second Chance. In the poem, B
1. Peter Pan Donut & Pastry Shop, with a side of Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
After reading the story “The Donuts” in Robert McCloskey’s Homer Price as a kid, it has always been a secret dream of mine to own a donut shop. Peter Pan Donuts looks like it was plucked right from one of McCloskey’s pencil-sketch drawings, down to the stools at the counter. Donuts have definitely been having a moment the past few years, but in my opinion, nobody can touch Peter Pan—I live and die by its sour-cream old fashioned.
727 Manhattan Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11222
MAP
2. Okonomi, with a side of Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami writes about food a lot in his novels and short stories, but the food scenes in Norwegian Wood are my favorite because of their clean simplicity. At one point the narrator eats a breakfast of “rice, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and fried eggs,” and at another point “eggs, mackerel, fresh greens, eggplant, mushrooms, radishes, and sesame seeds, all done in the delicate Kyoto style.” I had never had a traditional Japanese breakfast until Okonomi opened up down the street a few months ago. Every morning there is a prefix menu, the only choice you get is what fish you want, and all the fish comes in fresh every morning. Along with the fish, there are steamed greens with sesame seeds and tofu, pickled vegetables, a small square of egg custard, rice with bonito flakes, and a poached egg, barley tea, and the best miso soup I’ve ever had. I always leave Okonomi feeling somehow cleansed—not my usual feeling after going out to breakfast.
150 Ainslie Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211
MAP
3. The Second Chance Saloon, with a side of $$$$$$ by Bukowski
I hate Bukowski, but the love that I have for The Second Chance Saloon is real, and somehow the two just work together. There is plenty of beer drinking at dark bars in his collection of poems, “Love is a Dog from Hell,” but one poem in particular, called “$$$$$$” makes me think about The Second Chance. In the poem, B